Thursday, January 14, 2010

All schools treated alike?

Today's Bernama report quoted the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as saying that the government does not practice discrimination in the field of education as it treats all schools alike in Malaysia.

Muhyiddin was responding to dissatisfaction expressed by one student this during a dialogue with Malaysian student leaders at the Malaysian High Commission in London yesterday that there was a disparity in the government's treatment of schools, especially involving those in the interiors of Sabah and Sarawak.

According to Muhyiddin, there was no let up on the government's part to implement various improvement programmes for schools in the two states. "The problem the government faces is that there are not many teachers willing to serve in interior areas, especially in those two states," he was quoted as saying.

I am sure that the student who had raised the problem was not just referring to the lack of teachers in the interior parts of Sabah and Sarawak.

In terms of basic facilities, can Muhyiddin truly say that the schools in the interior parts of Sabah and Sarawak have been given the same treatment as other schools?

Since he said that all schools are treated alike in Malaysia, he should explain why there has been so much calls, whether inside or outside Parliament, for fair , just and equal treatment of national type primary schools in the country .

Can Muhyiddin produce government allocation statistics to justify his claim that all schools are treated alike , whether they are national or national type primary schools?

The answer is obvious. His claim that all schools are treated alike cannot hold water as official statistics previously produced through parliamentary replies have shown that Education Ministry's financial allocation does not practice " fairness to all ".

It is easy to say that the government treats all schools alike, but no one will be convinced unless the government practices what it preaches.